1950s Cork City house reborn as healthy low-energy home
Written by Ekaterina Tikhoniouk
The deep retrofit of this two-storey 1950s house in Cork City transformed a draughty, poorly-insulated dwelling into a comfortable, low-energy home for one family – coming close to the Enerphit standard in the process.
Sensitive passive retrofit transforms Victorian North London home
Written by Kate de Selincourt
Upgrading a historic home to the passive house standard typically means leaving the façade untouched to preserve the building’s historic appearance, but the team behind this fully passive retrofit in Kensal Green took a totally different approach.
Ten years ago Brussels had some of the most energy inefficient building stock in Europe — now it boasts a groundbreaking policy that means all new buildings in the region must be passive. How did the city do it?
Why Dublin City’s passive house policy must be retained
Written by Jeff Colley
The attempts to derail Dublin City Council’s proposed ‘passive house or equivalent’ planning requirement are bad news in the increasingly difficult fight to mitigate against and adapt to climate change – they risk being complicit in new buildings in the city breaching European law.
Can year-round internal air quality be achieved without fans?
Written by Simon McGuinness
At first glance, designing out electrical fans from ventilation strategies may appear attractive, and even sustainable. Simon McGuinness offers some home truths.
In her second column documenting her family’s self-build passive house project, Nessa Duggan details the process of choosing a build system and finding an architect.
Let’s move beyond the sustainable city oxymoron
Written by Peter Rickaby
A truly sustainable built environment hinges on a multiplicity of factors, not least including the context within which a building sits. Dr Peter Rickaby argues that a focus on cities may lead us in the wrong direction.
New research reveals high failure rate for ventilation systems
Written by Kate de Selincourt
New evidence indicates that decentralised MEV systems – an increasingly popular option, now questions are being raised over the standard “background-plus-intermittent extract” ventilation strategy – can also fail to provide adequate indoor air quality, and may even perform worse than the standard approach in new build homes.
Ecological announces new retrofit training programme
Written by News Desk
Ecological Building Systems has updated its Irish training programme for the autumn and winter season. Along with its award winning airtightness installer training, the company will launch a new course titled Low Energy Retrofits. To coincide with this Ecological will be also hold a Retrofit Insulation Masterclass on the 25 and 27 October.
Kingspan’s Stormont solar array meets unique challenges
Written by News Desk
Home of the Northern Ireland parliament in Belfast, Stormont has recently undergone a major refurbishment, including a completely new plumbing and heating system that provides catering and washing facilities on a daily basis for over 1000 people. The building itself has changed little over the years (it was opened in 1932) and therefore presented an interesting design and installation challenge.
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Irish cellulose manufacturer Ecocel wins Green Apple award
Written by News Desk
Cork based cellulose insulation manufacturer Ecocel has won a bronze Green Apple award, the prestigious international award for the built environment and architectural heritage. The award was presented to Ecocel’s managing director John Egan at a ceremony on 8 August in London.
Aereco launches quality standard for its ventilation systems
Written by News Desk
Ventilation system manufacturer Aereco has announced the launch of its new Aereco Quality Standard.
AECB members praise Passive House + for content & advertising
Written by News Desk
Passive House + has been widely praised for its editorial content, technical information and the relevance of its advertising in a survey of AECB members.
Leading passive house design and product supplier Young Design Build has announced that it has become the Irish and UK agent for D&M solar shading, the leading German manufacturer of external shutter technology and blind solutions. Stephen Young of Young Design Build told Passive House Plus that D&M’s systems are designed to prevent overheating in buildings with large expanses of glass.